Hostname: page-component-669899f699-vbsjw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-27T00:08:50.970Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Classifying children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure using measures of attention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2004

KARA T. LEE ,
SARAH N. MATTSON  and
EDWARD P. RILEY
KARA T. LEE
Affiliation:
Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
SARAH N. MATTSON
Affiliation:
Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
EDWARD P. RILEY
Affiliation:
Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Deficits in attention are a hallmark of the effects of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure but although such deficits have been described in the literature, no attempt to use measures of attention to classify children with such exposure has been described. Thus, the current study attempted to classify children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (ALC) and non-exposed controls (CON), using four measures of attentional functioning: the Freedom from Distractibility index from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Third Edition (WISC–III), the Attention Problems scale from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and omission and commission error scores from the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA). Data from two groups of children were analyzed: children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and non-exposed controls. Children in the alcohol-exposed group included both children with or without fetal alcohol syndrome. Groups were matched on age, sex, ethnicity, and social class. Data were analyzed using backward logistic regression. The final model included the Freedom from Distractibility index from the WISC–III and the Attention Problems scale from the CBCL. The TOVA variables were not retained in the final model. Classification accuracy was 91.7% overall. Specifically, 93.3% of the alcohol-exposed children and 90% of the control children were accurately classified. These data indicate that children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure can be distinguished from non-exposed controls with a high degree of accuracy using 2 commonly used measures of attention. (JINS, 2004, 10, 271–277.)

Keywords

Fetal alcohol syndromeAttentionDiagnosisClassification
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , March 2004 , pp. 271 - 277
Copyright
© 2004 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Aase, J.M., Jones, K.L., & Clarren, S.K. (1995). Do we need the term “FAE”? Pediatrics, 95, 428–430.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T.M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.
Calarco, K.E., Mattson, S.N., Robertson, B., & Riley, E.P. (2003). Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure or adhd? Errors make the difference. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 152.Google Scholar
Carmichael Olson, H., Sampson, P.D., Barr, H., Streissguth, A.P., & Bookstein, F.L. (1992). Prenatal exposure to alcohol and school problems in late childhood: A longitudinal prospective study. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 341–359.Google Scholar
Coles, C.D., Platzman, K.A., Lynch, M.E., & Freides, D. (2002). Auditory and visual sustained attention in adolescents prenatally exposed to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26, 263–271.Google Scholar
Connor, P.D., Streissguth, A.P., Sampson, P.D., Bookstein, F.L., & Barr, H.M. (1999). Individual differences in auditory and visual attention among fetal alcohol-affected adults. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 23, 1395–1402.Google Scholar
Jacobson, S.W., Jacobson, J.L., & Sokol, R.J. (1994). Effects of fetal alcohol exposure on infant reaction time. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 18, 1125–1132.Google Scholar
Jacobson, S.W., Jacobson, J.L., Sokol, R.J., Martier, S.S., & Ager, J.W. (1993). Prenatal alcohol exposure and infant information processing ability. Child Development, 64, 1706–1721.Google Scholar
Jones, K.L. & Smith, D.W. (1973). Recognition of the fetal alcohol syndrome in early infancy. Lancet, 2, 999–1001.Google Scholar
Jones, K.L., Smith, D.W., Ulleland, C.N., & Streissguth, A.P. (1973). Pattern of malformation in offspring of chronic alcoholic mothers. Lancet, 1, 1267–1271.Google Scholar
Leark, R.A., Dupuy, T.R., Greenberg, L.M., Corman, C.L., & Kindschi, C.L. (1999). T.O.V.A. Test of variables of attention: Professional guide. Los Alamitos, CA: Universal Attention Disorders, Inc.
Lemoine, P., Harousseau, H., Borteyru, J.-P., & Menuet, J.-C. (1968). Les enfants de parents alcooliques: Anomalies observées. À propos de 127 cas [Children of alcoholic parents: Abnormalities observed in 127 cases]. Ouest Medical, 21, 476–482.Google Scholar
Mattson, S.N., Lang, A.R., & Calarco, K.E. (2002). Attentional focus and attentional shift in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 295.Google Scholar
Mattson, S.N. & Riley, E.P. (1998). A review of the neurobehavioral deficits in children with fetal alcohol syndrome or prenatal exposure to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 22, 279–294.Google Scholar
Mattson, S.N. & Riley, E.P. (2000). Parent ratings of behavior in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and IQ-matched controls. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 24, 226–231.Google Scholar
Mattson, S.N., Riley, E.P., Gramling, L., Delis, D.C., & Jones, K.L. (1997). Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure with or without physical features of fetal alcohol syndrome leads to IQ deficits. Journal of Pediatrics, 131, 718–721.Google Scholar
Mattson, S.N. & Roebuck, T.M. (2002). Acquisition and retention of verbal and nonverbal information in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26, 875–882.Google Scholar
May, P.A. (1995). A multiple-level, comprehensive approach to the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). International Journal of the Addictions, 30, 1549–1602.Google Scholar
Niccols, G.A. (1994). Fetal alcohol syndrome: Implications for psychologists. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 91–111.Google Scholar
Roebuck, T.M., Mattson, S.N., & Riley, E.P. (1998). A review of the neuroanatomical findings in children with fetal alcohol syndrome or prenatal exposure to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 22, 339–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roebuck, T.M., Mattson, S.N., & Riley, E.P. (1999). Behavioral and psychosocial profiles of alcohol-exposed children. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 23, 1070–1076.Google Scholar
Sattler, J.M. (1992). Assessment of children. San Diego, CA: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher.
Shaywitz, S.E., Cohen, D.J., & Shaywitz, B.A. (1980). Behavior and learning difficulties in children of normal intelligence born to alcoholic mothers. Journal of Pediatrics, 96, 978–982.Google Scholar
Stratton, K., Howe, C., & Battaglia, F. (1996). Fetal alcohol syndrome: Diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Streissguth, A. & Kanter, J. (Eds.). (1997). The challenge of fetal alcohol syndrome: Overcoming secondary disabilities. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Streissguth, A.P., Barr, H.M., Kogan, J., & Bookstein, F.L. (1996). Final report: Understanding the occurrence of secondary disabilities in clients with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE). Seattle: University of Washington Publication Services.
Streissguth, A.P., Bookstein, F.L., Sampson, P.D., & Barr, H.M. (1995). Attention: Prenatal alcohol and continuities of vigilance and attentional problems from 4 through 14 years. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 419–446.Google Scholar
Streissguth, A.P., Grant, T., Ernst, C.C., Phipps, P., & Gendler, B. (1994). Reaching out to the highest risk mothers: The birth to 3 project. Technical report, No. 94–12. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Tabachnick, B.G. & Fidell, L.S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Wechsler, D. (1991). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Third Edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.